A controversial decision on making all taxis in Aberdeen wheelchair accessible was deferred yesterday following a stormy debate.
There has been opposition to the city council’s current plans, which will mean all hackney drivers have to adhere to the new regulations by next year.
Taxi driver union Unite has claimed there is already sufficient wheelchair provision in the Granite City, with more than 500 vehicles equipped for wheelchair users.
The council’s licensing committee met yesterday to decide whether to push ahead with the new rules.
But some members and union leaders argued they should instead push for a “mixed fleet” and urged council chiefs to prepare a report on the Dundee taxi industry, which operates in such a way.
The public section of the committee room was filled by anxious drivers waiting to find out whether they would potentially need to shell out thousands on a new cab.
Unite north-east chief Tommy Campbell called for more consultation before the changes take place.
He said: “Our Unite colleagues in Dundee have told us they have no problems and no complaints about the mixed fleet. There has to be a balance.”
Concerns were raised that the accessible vehicles may not be suitable for disabilities like blindness and cerebral palsy.
Councillor Alex Nicoll said: “We have one person in my family who is a stroke survivor who can walk to a taxi rank but can’t enter an accessible car.
“I suspect there are a lot of disabled people in the same position.”
But administration members said that implementing the taxi policy was the only way to meet their “equality commitments”.
Committee convener Scott Carle said there was “no perfect solution” but the policy was the “closest”.
But after the debate it was decided that a decision will now be taken by the full council in May.
